Multiplet jewelry product and method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A multiplet jewelry product constructed of two or more layers of gemstone material affixed together with a transparent film disposed therebetween to form a composite unit. A translucent image is imprinted on the transparency film whereby refracted and reflected light is directed through the image imbedded within the gemstone product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a jewelry product, and moreparticularly to a gemstone product having internally imbedded visualindicia which appears to be suspended or trapped within and a naturalpart of the gemstone.

Most natural gemstones are minerals that have been crystallized as aresult of high temperatures and pressure exerted by nature on elementsthat form the earth's crust. Of more than 3000 minerals found on earth,only a small percentage qualify as gemstones due to their beauty,durability, color, and rarity. In recent years processes have beendeveloped to produce synthetic gems of high quality almostindistinguishable from natural gems. Synthetic gemstones includealexandrite, coral, diamond, emerald, garnet, lapis lazuli, quartz,ruby, sapphire, spinel, and turquoise. Laboratory grown simulants havean appearance similar to that of a natural gemstone but have differentoptical, physical, and chemical properties. These include coral, cubiczirconia, lapis lazuli, malachite, and turquoise.

The most sought after are the transparent gems of pure color whichpossess special optical properties. Although these stones are quiteordinary looking in their native form, their special optical propertiesproduce a very dramatic and pleasing appearance when the stone is cutand faceted properly. The main purpose of a faceted gem considered as anoptical element is to reflect toward the observer's eye as large aportion of the incident light as possible. Although many different cutshapes are used, the most common, and the one that reflects the mostlight back toward the observer, is the brilliant cut. The shape of thiscut is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Nomenclature for the variousparts of the shape is also shown in these figures.

In order to understand why gems are faceted, it is essential tounderstand how light behaves once it passes into a gemstone. When a rayof light strikes the surface of a gem, part of the light bounces off thesurface and part passes through the surface into the gem (see FIG. 2).The part that bounces off the surface is said to be reflected, and theangle of incidence (i) equals the angle of reflection (f), where i and fare defined as shown on FIG. 2.

Light that passes from one material into another is bent or refracted.The amount the light bends will depend upon the optical properties ofthe two materials. This optical property is unique to each material andis termed the refractive index (RI).

Experimentally, it is found that for a ray of light passing from onematerial into another, the following equation, known as Snell's Law, canbe written.(RI)_(i) sin(i)=(RI)_(r) sin(r)Where:

(RI)_(i)=the refractive index of the incident material

(RI)_(r)=the refractive index of the refractive material

i=the angle of incidence, and

r=the angle of refraction

Two consequences of Snell's Law can be stated as:

1. The greater the difference in the refractive indices of the twomaterials, the more the ray is bent.

2. When light travels from a material of lower RI into a material ofhigher RI, the ray is bent toward the normal to the surface, andconversely when light travels from a material of higher RI into amaterial of lower RI, the ray is bent away from the normal to thesurface (see FIG. 3).

Critical angle: FIG. 4 illustrates the case where light rays pass from amaterial with relatively large refractive index into a material with asmaller refractive index, such as internally from a gemstone into theair. As a consequence of Snell's law the ray is bent away from thenormal to the surface. At A both reflection and refraction occur. Thecritical angle is defined by the situation shown at B, where therefracted ray is parallel to the surface. At C the incident angle islarger than the critical angle and no refracted ray is produced. In thiscase 100% of the light is reflected back into the gemstone.

Brilliance: The brilliance of a gemstone is defined as the intensity ofthe internal and external reflections of white light to the eye from thegem in the face-up position. When cut at the proper angle, the pavilionfacets do their job by reflecting light which has entered the gemstoneand is propagating through the gem material. In FIG. 5A the pavilion iscut shallow so that most rays entering the stone from the crownintersect the pavilion at an angle which allows the light to refract outof the stone. In FIG. 5C these rays reflect back into the stone whenthey strike the pavilion facets the first time, but are refracted outwhen they intersect the pavilion facets the second time. In FIG. 5B thepavilion facets are cut at such an angle that the majority of the lightrays entering the crown are totally reflected back into the gem andsubsequently out of the crown. Maximum brilliance occurs under thiscondition.

Dispersion and fire: Fire refers to the rainbow-like flashes of colorseen in cut gemstones. It is essential to realize that white light is acombination of all light colors. The extent to which light is refractedis dependent on the wavelength (color) of the light. Blue light is bentmore than red light. Dispersion is the measure of the amount ofrefraction of violet light minus the refraction of red light. Thegreater the difference between red and blue light, the greater thedispersion. FIG. 6 illustrates how white light is separated into itscomponent colors to produce color flashes or fire in a gemstone.

Fire is influenced by the gemstones proportions in four ways; 1) theangle that light enters the stone, 2) the angle that light exits thestone, 3) the number of facet interactions (bounces) the light hasinside the stone, and 4) the number of times the light rays spreadacross facet junctions. Different illumination conditions andsurroundings (the viewing “panorama”) can enhance or diminish theappearance of fire.

Viewing panorama: Gemstones can appear dramatically different underdifferent types of lighting, or viewing environment. The environmentincludes not only the type of lighting that is illuminating the stone,but also the surroundings (such as walls, ceiling, floor coloring, andother objects in the immediate area) in which the gem is viewed. All ofthese variables can be classified under viewing panorama.

An important distinction between typical office lighting and candlelight(or sunlight) is the spread of directions from which the light beamsenter the gemstone. Office lighting (often fluorescent lighting thatbounces off white ceilings and light-colored walls) is considered a typeof diffused lighting. In completely diffused lighting, light strikes thestone evenly from everywhere and from all angles. Although this type oflighting may highlight the brightness of a polished stone, the moreevenly diffused it is, the more it will suppress fire.

Candlelight or sunlight is the opposite of diffused lighting and iscalled directional lighting or spot lighting. In spot lighting, lightstrikes the gem from one or more single point sources which are smalland bright compared to the areas around them. The contrast between thelight and dark areas in spot lighting, along with the contrast due tothe edges of the gem facets, brings out the fire in a gem.

Composite gemstones: A composite gemstone is any stone created by fusingor cementing together two or more pieces of material. When two mainpieces are joined together they are called doublets, and when threepieces are joined together they are called triplets. Doublets andtriplets generally are made for one of three reasons; to enhance theappearance of poor quality stones, to assemble small stones to create alarger stone, or to imitate more desirable, valuable gems. Often coloredor tinted glue is used to join the pieces. The result is a diffusion ofcolor throughout the entire stone.

Cabochon: A cabochon is a gem or bead cut in a convex form and highlypolished but not given facets. Transparent cabochons with a flat bottomhave occasionally been mounted over opaque photographs or art work, sothat the photograph or art work is visible through the cabochon, asthrough a lens.

Numerous techniques exist for making jewelry items having aestheticallydesirable characteristics. Many of these involve doublets or tripletswith various methods of imparting color to the gem. A number of patentsdisclose gemstones or novelty items containing opaque items such asphotographic prints, etchings, or objects secured between layers ofglass or gem material.

Normann (U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,417) discloses a method of making multipletjewelry with internally embedded opaque indicia. He describes a productconstructed of two or more layers of material affixed together havingopaque visual indicia secured therebetween. The top layer of themultiplet jewelry product is constructed of a material sufficientlytransparent to permit observation of the visual indicia. Subsequentlayers of material consist of a selected transparent, semi-transparentor non-transparent gemstone materials. Visual indicia useable in thisinvention is always opaque and includes symbolic representations, words,alphabet letters, pictures, designs, or objects. The designs, pictures,symbols, alphabet characters, and words preferably consist of colored orblackened opaque materials, including metal (e.g. gold, platinum,silver, palladium, steel, copper, bronze, aluminum, and titanium),paint, dye, ink, stain, resinate, ceramic decorating agents, or decalmaterials.

Normann's first step is to provide a first layer of transparent materialand a second layer of gemstone material, wherein the first and secondlayers each have an interfacial surface. The indicia are applied to oneof the interfacial surfaces, and the two layers are then joinedtogether.

In a first embodiment his visual indicia is in the form of an opaquecoating of at least one colored material, with the coating covering onlyselected portions of one or more of the interfacial surfaces, withregions adjacent being exposed and uncovered in order to produce adiscontinuous design.

In a second embodiment the opaque coating is first applied to at leastone of the interfacial surfaces, then at least one portion of saidcoating material is selectively removed so as to form a design. Theportion being removed is removed in its entirety in order to expose theinterfacial surface thereunder.

In a third embodiment the indicia is formed by depositing an opaquecoating of metal on at least one of the interfacial surfaces, and thenselected portions of the metal coating are removed by using aphotoresist material. A similar technique is described in anotherembodiment using a combination of zirconium and gold along with thephotoresist process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It should be noted that if an opaque image on a transparent medium isilluminated by light passing through the transparent medium toward theobserver, the image will appear as a silhouette only. Details on theopaque image can only be viewed under incident lighting. On the otherhand, incident lighting is very ineffective for viewing a transparency.Effective viewing of the transparency requires backlighting passingthrough the transparency toward the observer.

Normann does not recognize, disclose or suggest the unique advantagesand results obtained by using the teachings of the present inventionwherein a transparency film similar to a slide or overhead transparencycontaining a translucent image imprinted thereon is imbedded in thegemstone. The present invention involves a method of creating a gemstonecontaining a transparent image that appears to be suspended or trappedwithin the stone. This is accomplished by encapsulating a transparencyor transparent film on which the translucent image is imprinted betweentwo or more pieces of gemstones. By so incorporating a translucent imageinto the gemstone, full advantage may be taken of the aforedescribedgemstone characteristics to thereby provide a unique result wherein theimage is through illuminated such that the image appears to be anintegral part of the gemstone.

The present invention incorporates a method of creating a gemstonecontaining a translucent image that appears to be an integral part ofand suspended or trapped within the stone. This is accomplished byproviding first and second layers of gemstone material havinginterfacial surfaces, providing a visual indicia in the form oftransparency film with a translucent image imprinted thereon, and thensecuring the interfacial surfaces together, as by a suitable glue, withthe imprinted film disposed between the interfacial surfaces in order toform a composite unit. Refracted and reflected light within the gemstoneis directed through the translucent image giving it a fascinatingquality of appearance and illumination through the gemstone. Normallythese first and second layers of gemstone material are selectedrespectively as a gem crown and a gem pavilion. The gem pavilion ispreferably provided with surface facets which are appropriately angledfor directing refracted and reflected light through the translucentimage for illumination.

More than one translucent image may be imbedded within the gemstone,thereby providing a three dimensional effect to the entrapped image. Toaccomplish this a second set of interfacial surfaces are provided ineither the crown portion or the pavilion portion of the same gemstoneand this second set of interfacial surfaces are also secured togetherwith a second transparent film having a translucent image imprintedthereon disposed between the second set of interfacial surfaces.

The translucent image may be imprinted on the transparent film by anysuitable means, such as by hand painting or digital printing, such aswith an computer controlled ink jet printer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the followingdescription and claims. The accompanying drawings show, for the purposeof exemplification, without limiting the scope of the invention orappended claims, certain practical embodiments of the present inventionwherein:

FIG. 1A is a top view of a faceted gemstone illustrating a common cutknown as the brilliant cut;

FIG. 1B is a view in front elevation of the gemstone shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a graphical illustration illustrating how a ray of lightinteracts with the surface of a gem;

FIG. 3 is a graphical view illustrating a light ray passing from airinto a gemstone, and out of a gemstone into air;

FIG. 4 is a graphical view illustrating total internal reflection withina gemstone;

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are combination schematic and diagrammaticillustrations or views illustrating internal reflection and criticalangle of a gemstone cut for reflected and refracted light rays;

FIG. 6 is a combination schematic and diagrammatic view illustrating howthe edge of a gemstone acts as a prism;

FIG. 7 is a photographic perspective view of one embodiment of themultiplet jewelry product of the present invention in the form of apendant;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of another doublet embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a view in front elevation of a triplet embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A multiplet jewelry product 10 constructed in accordance with theteachings of the present invention is photographically shown in FIG. 7.The product 10 is illustrated in the form of a pendant setting having agemstone set therein and incorporating within the gemstone a translucentimage 16 which is through lit or through illuminated by refracted andreflected light passing through the stone. This provides a unique resultwherein the image 16 appears to be an integral part of the gemstone.

The method of constructing a multiplet jewelry product 10 in accordancewith the teachings of the present invention is illustrated in theexploded perspective view of FIG. 8. In this embodiment the multipletjewelry product 10 consists of a top layer 12, which is here illustratedas a brilliant cut crown, a transparency film 32 having a translucentimage 16 imprinted thereon in the form of a digitally printed ink jetphotograph 34, and a bottom layer 14 of gemstone in the form of abrilliant cut pavilion. The first and second layers 12 and 14 ofgemstone material are provided with polished interfacial surfaces 22 and28 respectively. These interfacial surfaces 22 and 28 together with theimprinted film 32 disposed therebetween are secured together with anappropriate cement or glue to form a composite unit with the translucentimage 16 imbedded therein whereby refracted and reflected light withinthe gemstone is directed through the translucent image 34. Therefore thefacets of pavilion layer 14 are preferably angled for directingrefracted and reflected light through the image 16. The glue or cementutilized may for example consist of a clear transparent epoxy glue or acolor transparent epoxy glue.

The encapsulated film 32 may be cut slightly smaller than theencapsulating stone pieces in order to protect the film from exposer tomoisture and other harmful agents. Also, the image 16 shown in FIG. 8 isa translucent photographic print 34 which covers only a central portionof the film 32. However, the translucent photographic print 34 may, ifdesired, cover the entire surface of transparent film 32 as isillustrated in FIG. 7. Also, the photographic print 34 imprinted on film32 as shown in FIG. 8 was imprinted through the use of a computercontrolled inkjet computer. However, other suitable methods may be usedto form the image as by hand painting, a photographic process and theuse of a computer controlled laser printer instead of an inkjet printer.The image 16 may also consist of translucent initials, logos, symbols,artwork, as well as translucent photographs. Also, when using computercontrol techniques to apply the image 16 it is possible to imprintinformation to a very small scale. Such a scale could containinformation such as medical information, identification, or even aserial number for the stone. Such information can thereafter be exposedthrough the use of a magnifying glass or microscope for reading.

The brilliance and fire of the stone are affected little, if any, by theinclusion of the translucent image 16 since it does not impede thenatural pattern of light transmission within the stone. The effect is toproduce an image 16 that appears to be suspended or to float within thegemstone as an integral part of the gemstone as may be best realized byviewing FIG. 7. The un-disrupted passage of light through thetranslucent image creates a pleasing and ethereal appearance to theimage.

Also, unusual effects are provided particularly when the jewelry productis exposed to intense spot lighting, which causes distortion in theimage, and requires that the image be viewed from one or more distinctangles. The image 16 appears to distort or breakup when viewed fromangles intermediate to the preferred viewing angles, which adds to themysterious or ethereal appearance of the image. In the embodiment ofFIG. 8, the gemstone product 10 is illustrated in the form of brilliantcut gemstone. Of course other cuts are acceptable, such as illustrated,for example in FIG. 7.

Also, the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is a doublet construction. A threedimensional effect may be added to the product 10 of the presentinvention by providing a triplet as shown in FIG. 9. In this arrangementan additional transparent film layer 18, having a translucent imageimprinted thereon as before is disposed between a second set ofinterfacial surfaces in the pavilion layer 14 of the gemstone. Thissecond set of interfacial surfaces together with the includedtransparent imprinted film 18 are cemented together in the same fashionas was the first transparent film 32 between first interfacial surfaces22 and 28. This arrangement creates an image on both the top and bottomof the intermediate piece of gemstone between films 18 and 32 producinga three dimensional effect. Also, more than one intermediate piece canbe used, or in other words even an additional transparent film with atranslucent image imprinted thereon may be embedded within the gemstoneproviding three or more embedded spaced translucent images to enhancethe three dimensional effect even further.

Other techniques may also be used to enhance the image visibility. Forexample, the cutlet, which is the bottom point or tip of the gemstone,may be enlarged. This cutlet tip may be flattened or rounded to preventchipping. Normally enlarging the cutlet is undesirable. However, when itis enlarged the stone acts essentially as a window to the parallel topand bottom faces. When applied to a stone within an encapsulatedtranslucent image as taught by the present invention, the image becomescrystal clear where it covers the cutlet. The size of the flattenedcutlet may be adjusted relative to the image size to expose the entireimage or just a portion thereof, leaving the periphery of the imageexposed to the natural light transmission patterns within the stone.

Another technique which may be applied is by frosting the interfacialsurface, such as surface 28, on the pavilion. This causes the raysreflected from the pavilion to be defused as they pass through thetranslucent image thereby rendering the image more visible. The amountof frosting can be controlled to attain varying degrees of visibilityand brilliance.

Another feature which may be applied to the product 10 of the presentinvention is to use a frosted film 32. This achieves the same effect asfrosting the gem interfacial surface, but which covers only the area ofthe image. This leaves the brilliance of the annular space around theimage undiminished.

Also, the pavilion can be left as a cone shape in a round cut stone orsmooth without faceting, matching individual shapes for other shapedstones. This eliminates the bright reflections from the pavilion.Alternatively, only a portion (usually the top part) of the pavilion maybe faceted, thus creating any desired balance between brilliance andvisibility of the translucent image 16.

The ideal angle on which the pavilion is cut can determine the amount oflight that is reflected from the pavilion facets. A shallow or a deepcut will reflect less light thereby diminishing the brilliance produced.This can also enhance image visibility, but at the price of diminishingbrilliance. Alternatively, the pavilion can be cut at the ideal angle inits top portion and at a shallower angle in the lower portion. Thisreturns the annular space around the image with the brilliance and fireunimpeded, but enhances the visibility of the image. The lower thechange in angle that is introduced on the pavilion, the smaller is thearea through which the visibility of the image is enhanced.

1. A method of preparing a multiplet jewelry product with internally embedded visual indicia comprising the steps of: providing first and second layers of gemstone material having interfacial surfaces; providing visual indicia in the form of a transparency film with a translucent image imprinted thereon; securing said interfacial surfaces together with said imprinted film disposed therebetween in order to form a composite unit with said translucent image embedded therein whereby refracted and reflected light is directed through said image.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second layers of gemstone material are selected respectively as a gem crown and a gem pavilion.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said pavilion is provided with surface facets.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said facets are angled for directing refracted and reflected light through said image.
 5. The method of claim 1, including the step of providing a second set of interfacial surfaces in a selected one of said first and second layers and securing said second set of interfacial surfaces together with a second transparent film having a translucent image imprinted thereon disposed therebetween.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said translucent image is imprinted on said film with a digital printer.
 7. A multiplet jewelry product comprising: first and second layers of gemstone material having interfacial surfaces; a transparent film having a translucent image imprinted thereon and disposed and secured between said interfacial surfaces to form a composite unit with said image imbedded threin whereby refracted and reflected light is directed through said image.
 8. The multiplet jewelry product of claim 7, wherein said first and second layers are respectively a gem crown and a gem pavilion.
 9. The multiplet jewelry product of claim 8, said pavilion having surface facets.
 10. The multiplet jewelry product of claim 9, wherein said facets are angled for directing refracted and reflected light through said image.
 11. The multiplet jewelry product of claim 7, including a second set of interfacial surfaces in a selected one of said first and second layers with a second transparent film having a translucent image imprinted thereon secured between said second set of interfacial surfaces.
 12. The multiplet jewelry product of claim 7, wherein said translucent image is comprised of ink. 